Whatarangi Winiata

Whatarangi Winiata (22 July 1935 – 3 June 2026) was a New Zealand accountant, academic and Māori leader. From 1994 to 2007, he was chief executive of Te Wānanga o Raukawa, a Māori tertiary education institution. He had been professor of accountancy at the Victoria University of Wellington from 1974. He was the inaugural president of the Māori Party, serving from 2004 to 2009.

Early life and career Winiata was born on 22 July 1935 at Hokio in Horowhenua. He was the second Māori to graduate with a Bachelor of Commerce degree, from Victoria University College in 1957. Hirini Moko Mead said of Winiata, he is "a leading thinker of the Māori world, and of te ao Pākehā as well". Winiata was founding president of the Māori Party.

Personal life and death Winiata married Francie Aratema in 1961 and they had four children.

Awards 2018 – Lifetime Achievement Award, National Māori Language Awards